Shadows That Haunt The Living
by munchkineater
Summary: Shadows. They haunt everybody. Even the cats of long ago cast shadows on the cats of today. Competition for DarkClan, R&R&E (the E stands for enjoy :D ) Rated T because it's Warriors and all... :P


**Hey guys! Been a while since I last wrote anything (whoopsies!), so in honor of a competition in the DarkClan forum, I wrote this little thing :) Enjoy!**

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A yowl rang out through the night as two groups of shady silhouettes stormed towards each other. The swift forms clashed in a clearing, writhing bodies clawing and biting and tearing the other to pieces. The ground was soon stained by copper.

As quickly as it started, though, the fighting stopped. A calm spread over the felines, starting in the center of the skirmish and rippling to the very edges. Two cats squared off in the middle of the group.

"Darkheart," a silver she-cat snarled. The opposing black tom curled his lip in a sneer.

"Silverfur," he coolly replied. The lithe she-cat growled low, narrowing her eyes at Darkheart.

"My name is Silver_star_," she corrected. "_Traitor_." Silverstar lashed her tail back and forth, working to hold her temper.

Darkheart sat down, curling his tail around his paws innocently. "Star is put at the ends of the names of leaders," he lectured, malice laced through his voice. "You're no leader of _mine_." The fur on his wide shoulders bristled menacingly.

Silverstar breathed out heavily, glaring at her clanmate. "_Fine_. If you won't see reason, maybe you'll agree to a... negotiation."

Darkheart cocked an eyebrow, betraying his interest to the leader. Her eyes glittered with triumph.

"We battle, just you and me. No tricks, no assistance, just a one-on-one battle. _To the death_." Darkheart's amber eyes widened, bloodlust glimmering in their depths. "Whoever wins leads ShadowClan. Whoever loses... well whoever loses can _rot_ in the Dark Forest for the rest of their death," Silverstar challenged.

Darkheart crouched low, muscles bunching for a leap. "To the death." He soared into the air, missing Silverstar's back by a fox-length. He whipped around, sinking his teeth into the ShadowClan leader's back leg. Silverstar screeched, raking her claws down Darkheart's back.

He tore his teeth out of Silverstar's leg, wriggling under her body and throwing her across the clearing. She slammed into an oak with a heavy thud. The leader's body slid down slowly, falling into a limp heap on the ground.

Darkheart's eyes glittered as he crept slowly towards Silverstar, intent for any signs of movement. Disbelief flashed through his eyes when Silverstar heaved herself to her paws, regrouping into a battle stance.

Silverstar charged the black cat, crashing into him head-on. Darkheart fell to the ground, momentarily winded. Silverstar pounced on him, assaulting his belly with a series of harsh slashes. Pain flashed white-hot through Darkheart's head.

He screeched in pain and desperation, hurt and shame combined. He concentrated his anger into one kick to Silverstar's stomach, sending her flying across the clearing into a crumpled heap on the forest floor.

Darkheart stalked towards his former leader after catching his breath, victory glinting in his eyes. "You know you're in trouble when the apprentice beats the mentor," Darkheart growled, standing over Silverstar's limp body. "I proclaim my━"

"Well it's a good thing the apprentice hasn't beaten the mentor yet." Silverstar's reanimated body surged up from under Darkheart, pinning the broad-shouldered tom to the ground. "I think you forgot the tiny detail that I have nine lives."

The shady tom snarled, even from his vulnerable position under Silverstar. "Kill me then, do your worst. You won't be leader for long, _coward_. I'm not afraid of death."

"Neither am I," Silverstar meowed, reminding the tom that she had died three times before. "But it is not a fate I wish to bestow on others. You are no longer a member of this clan, Darkheart. You and all your followers are banished _forever_." Darkheart's eyes widened, anger contorting his face into something surreal.

"You will regret this Silverstar!" Darkheart yowled. "You and all of you _ShadowClan_ cowards! None of you, and none of your ancestors, will rest in peace until I have had revenge!" He thrust Silverstar away, eyes bloodshot and mad. "_DarkClan_ will not go unavenged!"

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**So I hope y'all liked this :) This story is going to continue from a different account, DarkClan (still being created) and possibly with a different prologue, and you all should read it! It's going to be ****_epic_****. Anyways, review, tell me what you thought, all that good stuff :) Keep your pens at the ready, fellow FanFiction-ers!**

**~munchie**


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